back to article Acer to downplay Windows in favor of Android, Chrome OS

Acer has told investors that it will reduce its emphasis on Windows PCs and laptops over the next few quarters in favor of devices based on operating systems from Microsoft's archrival Google. The Wall Street Journal reports that that Taiwanese hardware maker plans to grow its "non-Windows business" rapidly, such that Android …

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  1. Mikel

    PCs are not profitable

    Obviously the way to win profits is not to make more of them.

    1. asdf

      Re: PCs are not profitable

      Hmm where all the Microsoft fanbois on this news? You know which way the wind is blowing if even Acer is looking away from Microsoft.

      1. Denarius
        Meh

        Re: PCs are not profitable

        not much anyway. What is significant that a PC builder has openly dissented against M$. Once a guarantee of private chats and a quick product kill.

        1. dogged

          Bad for Android

          Now this too will suffer undeserved stigmas for trying its best to run on Acer's shitty kit.

          1. Azzy

            Re: Bad for Android

            I was thinking the exact same thing.

            As far as I can tell, there's a key factor missing from Acer's turnaround strategy, and that is to stop selling poorly made crap that's so severely underspec'ed that it can barely run the OS it ships with.

      2. mmeier

        Re: PCs are not profitable

        Have you looked at the Acer "tablet pc" offerings? Touchy toys with Atom and core-i CPUs and a so-so build quality. In other words - useless crap! The W700 would be nice - if it had a proper inductive pen. It has not so why buy it?

        No wonder sales are down for Acer, if I want a tablet pc I buy Asus, Microsoft (my bet is OEM made by Asus) or Samsung below 1000€ and Lenovo or Sony in the 1000-2000€ slot

      3. aqk
        Happy

        Re: PCs are not profitable

        Golly, where's all the Win-8 bashers this week? I kinda miss guys.

        I've already U/ged to 8.1 preview, and looking forward to 8.1 "final" (if that's what they call it).

        Enjoy your up-to-date XP, guys!

        And stop bashing Win-7! It's pretty good! Not as good as 8, but...

        aw screw it- you better stay with XP. YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

        1. asdf

          Re: PCs are not profitable

          XP? Not sure if you understand the point of the article is Acer is looking to sell more than just Microsoft OSs. You do know Microsoft is not the only choice for your operating system right? For some people even the other choices are actually superior for their needs.

  2. Herby

    Next step??

    Linux desktops. Don't need to have a Microsoft license fee, so they might have better margins.

    Could happen, you never know.

    1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

      Re: Next step??

      Where PCs = "Desktops, Notebooks, Netbooks and Ultrabooks"

      Where Midclient = "client with locally installed apps which pulls productivity apps from browser or App-v"

      273 Mint PCs (and counting!)

      83 Android midclients.

      1526 OSX PCs.

      12 Windows XP midclients (But not for long!)

      480 Windows 7 PCs.

      18 Chromebook midclients.

      It begins.

    2. fandom
      Unhappy

      Re: Next step??

      Don't worry Microsoft will still manage to get about 15$ dollars for every computer they ship without Windows.

    3. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

      Re: Next step??

      Could happen, you never know.

      For the general market, I'm not so sure. For Unix developers, yes, but for most poeple the OS is of little importance, what matters is the range of programs/applications they can run. It used to be a straight Windows/Mac choice, but with Android fast catching up in terms of apps, and a substantial developer base willing to port things to it, I can certainly see Android being a popular OS for low-cost systems. Linux has a reasonable base of programs which are to some extent equivalent to Windows counterparts; MS Office/LibreOffice, Photoshop/Gimp etc. but it doesn't yet have that huge base of people churning out the apps-for-dummies that you find for Windows and MacOS. Android does, with a simple installation experience and none of the "dependency hell" that bedevils many Linux tools.

      I run all of Linux, Windows, Android and Solaris, on different systems. Windows and Android are definitely ahead on the ease-of-administration front, and I can certainly see the appeal to non-techy types.

      A lot could hang on things like processor choice and secure boot, of course.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Next step??

      "Linux desktops. Don't need to have a Microsoft license fee, so they might have better margins"

      Firstly Linux likely infringes loads of Microsoft patents, so if Microsoft wanted to monetise Linux use on the desktop they probably could - like they have with Android.

      Also Linux on the desktop tends to cost more than Windows - look for instance at the pricing of high end Linux PCs on the UK Dell site - Linux on the same PC costs more. This is for several reasons - Linux costs more to support and maintain a build for, there are more security patches and updates to asses and include, and the license for a supported Linux product like Red Hat costs more than a Windows license.

      1. Joe Montana
        WTF?

        Re: Next step??

        RedHat does not target desktop windows, it targets the server versions and is generally cheaper than them.

        Linux does not cost more to support and maintain, its just down to the economies of scale that although the costs are lower, they are spread across (at present) a smaller number of sales.

        Similarly, there are currently no third parties paying to have their (crapware) bundled on linux machines.

        And the reason there are more updates is simply because a lot more software is bundled with the typical linux distribution, and the fact that it is updated all in one places is a significant benefit.

        All that aside, OEMs are extremely foolish to stick with windows exclusively, they are dependent on the goodwill of a single supplier - a supplier who has demonstrated an ability and willingness to directly compete with them, and in a declining market to boot.

        1. mmeier

          Re: Next step??

          Ironically MS is not competing with the OEMs. The only unit that is in semi-competition with the Surface/Pro is the current Samsung core-i (Ativ 700t) tablet pc/2in1. And even that has some better specs (bigger screen and battery)

          The other tablet pc are either Atoms (Ativ500, TF810 etc) or convertibles with better performance (more memory, better cpu etc) like Vaio Duo, Helix or the T-Series. Add in that the S/P came out well after the 2012 holliday season and all it does is set upper (and maybe lower) price brackets for Atom and core-i units.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Next step??

          "RedHat does not target desktop windows, it targets the server versions and is generally cheaper than them."

          Yes it does: http://www.redhat.com/products/enterprise-linux/desktop/

          And Redhat server always costs significantly more to license than a similar Windows server version. Loads more when you add features like clustering...

          "Linux does not cost more to support and maintain"

          A number of studies show that supported enterprise Linux has a higher TCO - except as a web server...

          "Similarly, there are currently no third parties paying to have their (crapware) bundled on linux machines."

          Because sales of Linux PCs are near zero.

          1. fishman

            Re: Next step??

            [A number of studies show that supported enterprise Linux has a higher TCO - except as a web server...]

            And who paid for those studies?

            1. mmeier

              Re: Next step??

              Simply look at Munich and it's IT department. They have considerably more permanent staff per computer than similar german cities. And in germany permanent staff is hard and costly to get rid off, even more if you are a city that has a strong union (Wer?Die?) presence and german unions and the union controlled "Betriebsräte" (workers's council) has a lot of legal powers.

              Even if they basically had the same staff the TCO will not be cheaper since licence costs are the smallest factor in IT since companies and government do not pay "end user prices" and much of the software used will have licence costs even on Linux. "Open Office" is the smallest part of software in government, most is custom written stuff.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Next step??

                Not to mention that IBM subsidised the Munich project by millions otherwise it wouldn't even have been feasible, after 10 years the migration to Linux still isn't completed, and when the Munich council staff on Linux need to do any real work or use a version of Office that actually works - they have to connect to - Windows! - as virtual desktops....

                There was a recent HP study that estimated that overall it cost €30 million more than staying on Windows would have done....

                1. mmeier

                  Re: Next step??

                  @AC: I would not trust the HP studie and the IBM money is debated.

                  OTOH the data on staffing, Citrix clients licenced, new Windows licences bought etc. are officially from the city of Munich itself so that IS past doubt. And shows that they did not gain TCO benefits.

                2. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  Re: Next step??

                  "a recent HP study"

                  Sorry but a study from MS's number one (two?) route to the volume market isn't exactly an independent study is it. A quiet word between CEOs - "we need an independent study authoring, it's worth a couple of dollars off your Windows licence price per unit, any bright ideas?"

      2. oldcoder

        And what patents would that be?

        It is even possible that there are no "linux patents" involved at all, but some unidentified hardware patent.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Next step??

        "Firstly Linux likely infringes loads of Microsoft patents, so if Microsoft wanted to monetise Linux use on the desktop they probably could - like they have with Android"

        Citation needed, else STFU.

        Citation should specify which Linux too, as it is entirely possible that some Linux suppliers already have "sweetheart" deals with MS. (Hint: it's more than a possibility. Let's see if you have a clue).

        Also bear in mind that lawyers look after themselves. Once it looks like MS isn't a guaranteed win, MS will find it a lot more expensive to buy the right lawyers.

        "Linux on the desktop tends to cost more than Windows - look for instance at the pricing of high end Linux PCs on the UK Dell site"

        Dell's pricing is a business decision; they sell for what they can get. What genius would pay for a Linux workstation if they could get it for less with a Windows licence and overwrite Windows?

        Right now the Windows tax means it suits Dell's business practices to flog MS in preference to Linux. In the same way as historically it suited lots of people to join the MS dependent ecosystem (patent lawyers included).

        Maybe you've not noticed, but Dell's future finances (ie their future business) is looking decidely dodgy right now. Wintel is not the market certaintly it used to be, but Dell/Intel/Microsoft have no visible plan of escape.

        As Trevor wrote earlier here, times are changing. Microsoft doesn't have quite the monopoly control it used to have.

        MS still have control at Dell, at HP too, but there are other players in the game that MS used to be able to rely on, and newer players not so MS-dependent. Next year, and the year after, who will MS be able to rely on?

        1. mmeier

          Re: Next step??

          Given the announcements and systems just out MS can rely on

          Lenovo

          Sony

          Fujitsu

          Samsung

          Asus

          ....

    5. mmeier

      Re: Next step??

      Even leaving asside the lack of critical software for my use cases like Handwriting-Recognition, notepad software like at least Journal, non cloud document management a la OneNote (using a local Sharepoint), non-internet speech recognition (either Windows own or Dragon) I still would have to do a lot more work using Linux and so will most end users.

      Games do not run or need Wine and configuration. Linux games are few and not the ones I want to play

      Specialist programms, quite often open source or shareware, do not run native since they are written using Win-only stuff (often VB/VB.NET) or I only get the binary (Roleplaying and model building stuff)

      Existing hardware does not run or only with certain distribution/kernel combinations (Scanner, Printer). Hardware that is more than good enough for privat use and has 5+ years left (and Win7 or Win8 drivers)

      Software for i.e my DSLR is Win only. Again fiddeling with Wine MIGHT work. Assuming the graphic hardware is supported. The 2011 build card just got a Win8 driver, not sure about Linux (and again: What distribution/kernel)

      No "one os / ui for all needs" as WIn8 (and mostly Win7 - I do not use touch, only pen) delivers

      And if I need a server - SOLARIS is free for internal use and I do not have to play the "guess the right distro/kernel" game. Just one SOLARIS/x86.

      1. Daniel B.

        Re: Next step??

        Anyone who has been in the chain letting anything get developed on VB should be fired and put in the wall of shame. Even MS knows its crap and made VB.NET basically C# with syntactic sugar over it. And even that was to please the VB crybabies.

        That said, any organization with more than half a brain in their IT department will see the benefit of breaking out of the MS ecosystem. Some are already doing it. Others have already laid down the MS opium and made the switch.

        At this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if OSX were even seen as a viable alternative to Windows if only because the base software compatibility is there (Office!) and actually looks friendlier than MS Fisher Price OS 8.

        1. mmeier

          Re: Next step??

          So tell us oh wise Sage Daniel B. what ARE those benefits for our customers? For they seem to be unable to see them. And it is mostly not a software problem for many since about 90+ percent would run under the Penguin (assuming there is a decent JDK 1.6 or better) and the rest is "pay the producer / finance the internal department to write an adapter" (Or in some cases: Licence the one that exists)

          It is definitly not "lack of knowledge" since they run a multi-os setup anyway with Solaris and AIX application servers and "outward visible" webservers, some OS/400 and even z-Series mainframes and Windows clients and some servers (Sharepoint, Exchange etc).

          They are big (>1000 employees) and successful companies so they have the smarts to do cost-benefit analysis. And they recently (2011/2012) upgraded to Win7 and Office2010 anyway. Heck, they even have extensive "training academies" and send their office workers there for schooling on a regular base

          And in the end - they still use Windows and MS-Office.

          1. Daniel B.

            Re: Next step?? @mmeier

            Ah sure, because doing the switch means changing all the desktop PCs. I've been too long in the biz to know that won't happen in a close timeframe. But the backend? Swapping out Windows Server for RHEL? Switching from AD to OpenDJ/389DS? Sure, especially as some organizations are moving key stuff to "web applications" and thus can change the backend stuff without confusing users. That's where I've seen orgs leaving MS; the core business no longer running on the MS stack or being migrated away from it.

            On the desktop side I have seen smaller organizations do the full Linux switchover, notably a small minimart chain switched all its POS PCs to Linux about 4 years ago, as well as a security camera services company. But even I would admit that an OSX switchover would have better odds on anything larger given the dependency on desktop software, including Office.

            1. mmeier

              Re: Next step?? @mmeier

              @DanielB

              App-Servers with our customers are more often than not (80+ percent) UNIX. The rest is Windows and OS/400 or IBM z-Series. Sure that works. SOLARIS is IMHO the most performant when it comes to Java Enterprise. But that is "old hat", these companies (Insurance, Financial, Industrie) have always used Windows for clients and the Login/Email etc. attached with that and "big iron" for the rest. Depending on wether they use Notes/Domino or Outlook/Exchange even mail may be Unix

              For a lot of reasons Linux does not feature in those server farms. A long term supported/licenced version that can run the common databases systems is not cheaper and the hassle of finding an admin for Distro x Version y.z is bigger than finding one for a commercial unix.

      2. Chemist

        Re: Next step??

        "Software for i.e my DSLR is Win only"

        Guess what - I have 2 DSLRs Canon 300D and 550D and I don't use Windows. There are plenty of RAW processing programs for Linux. Occasionally if you buy a very new camera as I did with the 550D it takes a little whole for the programs to catch-up - 2 weeks in the case of the 550D.

        The situation you raise with unsupported hardware is not one I have experienced.

        I've had 3 laser printers, 1 inkjet, 1 scanner/printer, accelerated graphics card, 3G dongle, serial/USB converter, PIC programmer, 4 cameras, 2 video cameras, 6 webcams/notebook cams, USB telephony headset. Even the HDTV will work as a dual-monitor setup with the laptops/netbook

        This with OpenSUSE 12.3 or earlier

        1. mmeier

          Re: Next step??

          Good for you that your cmbination of distribution and kernel version works for you and/or you spend more on the hardware. I guess I can get the scanner and printer working if I spend enough time. But - WHY? It works OOB on Win7 and Win8, any hardware produced in the last 3+ years labeled "runs under Windows" will. No check needed, no higher cost "industrial solutions" (overprized for privat use) needed.

          Good that there are programs for doing image manipulation on Windows. I guess spending time to search for them, test them and learn the one I decide on would save that problem. But - WHY? The Windows stuff works for me

          And remember - that and the problems you did NOT comment on where after I deliberatly left out cruxial problems (Tablet PC)

          1. Chemist

            Re: Next step??

            "no higher cost "industrial solutions""

            All my stuff is consumer grade, cheap Samsung laser, cheap Brother laser, old Epson laser cheapest Epson scanner/printer, the only 'special' I bought was a new Nvidia card so I could use hardware video acceleration for playing back 1080/50p H264 video without using all the processor and that was only £50.

      3. Chemist

        Re: Next step??

        "Existing hardware does not run or only with certain distribution/kernel combinations"

        The usual solution is to try a live Linux distribution to SEE if all your hardware works - it usually will.

        1. mmeier

          Re: Next step??

          More extra work. For what benefit?

          That is always the problem. If I drop the "it's not MS / it is free" pseudo-religious aspect (1) then what benefits remain for a client OS? And are those worth the extra time spend, the "program x / hardware y not working" or "working after lengthy configuratiion / somewhat working in WINE" problems? Windows "works" for a resonably modern hardware and software OOB. And computers are tools for most, not the hobby itself.

          Servers may be different. OTOH if I go server and have to look up compatibility anyway - Solaris/x86 works just as well for privat use (use for developing, testing, demonstration are legal and free under OTN) and is common with our customers. And generally have less hassle with the software I use on servers since the "distro wars" do not exists there. There is only one Solaris (Well actually two to three (9, 10, 11) but they are nicely compatible for my purposes.

          (1) Since I buy "complete kit" from Dell/Lenovo/HP etc. since more than a decade instead of self-assemble the Windows is "no extra cost" for all practical purposes

          1. Chemist

            Re: Next step??

            "(1) Since I buy "complete kit" from Dell/Lenovo/HP etc. since more than a decade instead of self-assemble the Windows is "no extra cost" for all practical purposes"

            The 'cost' is that you buy into and reinforce a monopoly and one that has shown itself to have only one interest - itself. People here are always going on about not wanting even a duopoly in mobile and yet de facto is a desktop monopoly (an arrogant and increasingly irrelevant one)

            1. mmeier

              Re: Next step??

              Okay so it is only (to quote myself):

              "it's not MS / it is free" pseudo-religious aspect

              Thanks for the confirmation

              1. Chemist

                Re: Next step??

                ""it's not MS / it is free" pseudo-religious aspect"

                Nothing of the sort - I've been using MS software since the days of single-board computers with 6502 8-bit BASIC ( and even that had an infuriating bug ), DOS, Windows from the start upto W2000 and it's always been mediocre , and the company has always been trying to tie it's customers into its ecosystem. Fair enough if that's what you want to do or don't know any better.

                I started using Linux about 1994-5 and even though there were plenty of limitations early on the system was clearly far superior for what I wanted.

                As a scientist I've mainly used PDP-11s, VAX , alphas, SGIs and then big Linux workstations and compute farms - WIndows had no place in that except for the usual corporate guff of Exchange/Word. ( Excel was never powerful enough or indeed capable of handling the dataset sizes needed for our research work )

                1. Chemist

                  Re: Next step??

                  I've often wondered how insecure some Windows' users are that they seem obsessed by attacking, usually quite inaccurately, an OS that apparently only 1% of desktop users use. Maybe a little paranoia, a feeling of uncertainty. ?

                  1. Col_Panek

                    Re: Next step??

                    Because those are paid Microsoft shills/trolls. not average users.

          2. georgezilla Silver badge

            Re: Next step??

            Here's the problem arguing with you. You choose to ignore facts. Facts that don't fit with your world view. Some of those facts that you choose to ignore...

            Fact: 60%+ of the internet runs on Linux and other F/LOSS software.

            Fact: 90%+ of the top 500 Supercomputers in the world run Linux. Windows just one?

            Fact: The three biggest stock exchanges in the world run Linux.

            Fact: The world largest on-line retailer, Amazon, AND the worlds largest search engine, Google, both run Linux.

            Fact: The large majority of the world smart phones run on a version of Linux, Google's Android.

            Fact: When NASA chose an OS for it's last Mars rover it chose Linux.

            Fact: Linux is EVERYWHERE. You just don't know it. And don't want to.

            Fact: You PERSONALLY use Linux everyday. You just don't know that you do. And don't want to.

            But then facts, like Linux, have no place in the Windows world you live in. And an argument without facts is not and argument. It's just an opinion. And that's all you have, an opinion. A poorly supported one at that.

            1. mmeier

              Re: Next step??

              @ georgezilla

              One good reason not to use Linux is obvious from your post - blinds are for horses (and from your post PenguBoys) not for humans.

              I am OS agnostic, I use what

              a) The customer demands (job)

              b) Brings in the most money (job)

              c) Is the least hassel for my use cases (privat)

              The customer demands a lot of OS over the nearly three decades I earn money in IT - Linux was never among it.

              1. sgtrock
                WTF?

                Re: Next step??

                @mmeier at 12th Aug 13:02 GMT replying to georgezilla at 12th Aug 11:33 GMT

                Sorry, you're the one wearing the blinds. georgezilla really was just stating facts. Seriously, you are doing your customers and yourself a HUGE disservice by not taking a long, hard look at Linux. I think you'll find that a distribution like CentOS (basically Red Hat Enterprise Linux without the branding) and/or OpenSUSE would meet your needs quite well. And, since Linux is now the default platform of choice for a lot of new server development, you will be able to service your customers better by providing a broader range and more up to date options.

                Finally, I think you'll find that your current Solaris skills will transfer with a minimal amount of hassle to Linux. It's not like you're having to learn a brand new OS paradigm like Windows SMEs have to.

                Now, here are the citations that back up georgezilla's assertions:

                Fact: 60%+ of the internet runs on Linux and other F/LOSS software.

                Cite: Netcraft August 2013 Web server survey:

                http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2013/08/09/august-2013-web-server-survey.html

                Add up Apache and nginx and you're over 60%. Now, you might respond by saying that most of those are on Solaris but there's additional corroborating evidence to the contrary.

                Looking at Netcraft's May 2013 Most reliable report:

                http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2013/06/04/most-reliable-hosting-company-sites-in-may-2013.html

                Look at that! 9 of the top 10 are all running either Linux (7) or FreeBSD (2)! The lone exception is Windows Server 2008.

                Expand the list to look at the top 30 or 40:

                http://uptime.netcraft.com/perf/reports/performance/Hosters?tn=may_2013&orderby=os_name

                Not a Solaris to be seen. Heck, Windows has 5 in the top 42. The rest? Again, all FreeBSD (8), Linux (26), and one unknown.

                Fact: 90%+ of the top 500 Supercomputers in the world run Linux. Windows just one?

                Cite: http://top500.org/statistics/list/

                Set the drop down list to Operating System Family and click Submit.

                It's even better when you look at the stats over the past several years:

                Cite: http://top500.org/statistics/overtime/

                Again, set the drop down list to Operating System Family and click Submit. You'll see that even 10 years ago, Linux was well on its way to completely dominating the chart. Unix as a whole was already below 70% of the installed base.

                Change the chart to Operating System and you'll note that in 2003, Solaris only had 10 entries. Now? 0

                Fact: The three biggest stock exchanges in the world run Linux.

                Cite, NYSE: http://www.pcworld.com/article/238068/how_linux_mastered_wall_street.html

                Cite, London: http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/open-source/3260727/london-stock-exchange-in-historic-linux-go-live/

                Cite, Tokyo: http://investors.redhat.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=453626

                Fact: The world largest on-line retailer, Amazon, AND the worlds largest search engine, Google, both run Linux.

                Cite, Amazon: Netcraft's September 2012 Web Server Survey:

                http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2012/09/10/september-2012-web-server-survey.html

                "Although Amazon's scalable, pay-as-you-go EC2 service supports Microsoft Windows, Linux is by far the most popular operating system to be found amongst all of its web-facing computers, including those used by CloudFront and S3. Nearly 97% of Amazon's web-facing computers were running Linux during September's survey."

                Cite, Google desktop use:

                http://www.zdnet.com/the-truth-about-goobuntu-googles-in-house-desktop-ubuntu-linux-7000003462/

                Cite, Google server use:

                http://highscalability.com/google-architecture

                Fact: The large majority of the world smart phones run on a version of Linux, Google's Android.

                Cite: http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2013/03/the-annual-mobile-industry-numbers-and-stats-blog-yep-this-year-we-will-hit-the-mobile-moment.html

                It's a long article, so I'll just quote the relevant table here:

                "Installed Base of Smartphones by Operating System 2012 (vs 2011)

                1 (2) - Google Android . . . . . . . . . . 48% (31%)

                2 (3) - Apple iPhone . . . . . . . . . . . 19% (16%)

                3 (1) - Nokia Symbian . . . . . . . . . . 15% (33%)

                4 (4) - RIM Blackberry . . . . . . . . . . . 8% (12%)

                5 (5) - Samsung bada . . . . . . . . . . 2% ( 3%)

                6 (7) - MS Windows Phone . . . . . . 2% ( 1%)

                7 (6) - MS Windows Mobile . . . . . . . 1% ( 2%)

                Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1% (3%)

                TOTAL SMARTPHONES IN USE . . . 1,320 Million

                Source: TomiAhonen Almanac 2013

                This data may be freely shared"

                Given that growth rate, do you really doubt that Android hasn't gone well over half by now? More supporting evidence looking at tablets from last May:

                http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2013/05/now-android-also-biggest-tablet-os-ipad-share-eroding-gradually-with-samsung-looming.html

                Fact: When NASA chose an OS for it's last Mars rover it chose Linux.

                Actually, not quite accurate. The Rover itself is running WindRivers vxWorks.

                Cite: http://www.internetnews.com/blog/skerner/mars-curiosity.-where-is-linux.html

                However, most of the supporting systems at JPL are running Linux, including the workstations used to drive the rover.

                Cite: http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7570

                Fact: Linux is EVERYWHERE. You just don't know it. And don't want to.

                Linux is everywhere. It's almost impossible these days to buy a TV, consumer networking device, heck, even a new car without buying a device that runs embedded Linux.

                Cite: Too numerous to mention. Just Google any one of the above categories and add Linux on the end.

                Fact: You PERSONALLY use Linux everyday. You just don't know that you do. And don't want to.

                Cite: Your participation in this thread.

                1. mmeier

                  Re: Next step??

                  @sgtRock

                  >Sorry, you're the one wearing the blinds. georgezilla really was just stating facts. Seriously, you are doing >your customers and yourself a HUGE disservice by not taking a long, hard look at Linux. I think you'll find >that a distribution like CentOS (basically Red Hat Enterprise Linux without the branding) and/or OpenSUSE >would meet your needs quite well. And, since Linux is now the default platform of choice for a lot of new >server development, you will be able to service your customers better by providing a broader range and >more up to date options.

                  The "blinds" refered to "my needs, the customer demands" that got ignored. Neither I nor the customers care what "company x" uses

                  Customers are set on their server OS, see no reason to change. They have zero reasons to migrate away from AIX/SOLARIS/OS-400 etc. They did go Sparc->x86 a few years ago but that's it. There is zip Linux can do that Solaris can not do at least as good. And the extra cost in buying the licence is of no interest since they would by a RH licence as a replacement. And Java Enterprise runs nicely on Solaris and Windows.

                  Privat use: No, Linux can not replace Windows since half my privat units are convertibles/tablet pc and there Linux does not have the needed software and hardware support is "beta" at best for Wacom (and IIRC non for NTrig). And for quite a few programs I use there is no alternative so it would require configuring Wine. Same for games. So "more effort" for me. Why?

                  As for privat servers: Yes, might work there. OTOH why? I am used to Solaris and for my internal use they work just as well and are less effort for me.

                  I use Fragmentdroid privatly since currently the Baytrail Atoms are not out so a Note2 is the only acceptable interrim solution. If there was a WP with pen support - I would use that.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So there's lies, damn lies and statistics.

    Based on the links within the article Windows 8 tablets aren't considered to be selling well because they went from 0% tablet market share to over 7% market share in a single quarter and that's with there being no budget or small form factor Windows 8 tablets (8-7").

    And Chrome OS is the way forward because it had the fastest growing marketshare by accounting for 25% of all sub $300 notebook sales within the space of eight months which raised its PC market share from 1-2% in 2012 to 4-5% in 2013 but that's of a market that is shrinking by 4-7% per year and ChromeOS is expected to increase its market share by 10% which isn't even 0.5 percentile points.

    1. dogged

      Sheesh, the Google posse around here are going to downvote you to death for actually doing the maths.

      That was careless of you.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Well I'll give them some subjective analysis to downrate too ;-)

        Looking at Acer's track record with hardware I'd have four major concerns with this move if I were a shareholder.

        1) Google Chrome is an online orientated OS. Yes it can work offline but thats not its primary usage which is fine for existing markets such as most of Europe and North America but in emerging markets, which is what these items are priced for, a lack of internet connectivity could make it a no-go.

        2) Acer's views aren't nessecarily that of Google. Google have stated that they feel the biggest growth for the Chromebook will be in education, now it doesn't matter what country you come from public sector hardware providers are pretty much set in stone, unless you are already supplying to that market its going to be an uphill struggle to get a foot in the door. Acer does not come to mind when we hear about public sector providers.

        3) The elephant in the room, Android. Chromebooks are in an awkward position because they are competing on price directly with Android based tablets. Apple's iOS and OSX are in two completely different price bands and its extremely unlikely someone would have to choose one over the other. Microsoft have tried to negate this problem by making just the one OS to cover two different sectors. While readers like us will be able to differentiate between Google Chrome and Android its going to be a bigger problem for the public and for retailers (who have to educate the buying public) especially when companies like Asus sell hybrids and convertibles such as the Transformer.

        4) The even bigger elephant, Samsung. Samsung dominates the Android market and commands almost all the OEM profits and there is no reason at all that they won't do the same thing with the Chromebook. Acer's only real option is to compete on price and when you are already at the bottom of the scale how much further down can you go and still make it profitable enough to make it viable?

    2. mmeier

      Does the number include "upgraded" tablets? I have two Win7 units from the year 2011 that are now running Win8 (and soon 8.1) and I know quite a few units of that generation got an upgrade.

      If not than the numbers are impressive since many Win8 units became available Q1/2013 and latter and quite a few "old pens" are waiting for Baytrail/Haswell. Not to mention that business users, traditionally the big tablet pc users, are just finishing the evaluation phase of Win8.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        The figures were dealing with the physical tablets being sold so its more likely to be tablets that shipped with Win 8.

  4. Denarius
    Meh

    end of empires ?

    Seems to be symptomatic of the Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. USSA becoming USSR in everything but name and economic center of world moved to east Asia. Dominant machine type changing and with it, dominant OS perhaps. At least Acer have seen change coming and are trying to do something different to survive. Do MS still hope that mass ad campaigns will convince punters to buy a user hostile high cost product ? The ads alone in Oz put me off even trying one. yep an old fart, not right demographic, just one with some spare cash looking for a tablet that I can see in sunlight.

    Would not be surprised to see M$ change their attitude to applications on linux about 3 CEOs in the future. As for year of linux desktop, well, maybe more probable that openoffice forks and webby interfaces may share the shrinking large device ecosystem.

    The most revealing point will be what happens when the current crop of 3 year old PCs finally become unservicable. If they are replaced by large tablets, then the PC is mostly dead. The survivors will be called workstations. I can image big tablet devices in office with portable units for comms and general use as is happening now. At least until someone creates an effective scare about lots of low level UHF/SHF radio signals causing cancer/Alzheimers/fud of week. Lastly, the big interface changer may be useful voice controls. Outside of gaming, I cant see much use for guestures controlling machines much because ones hands are usually busy anyway.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Windows

    And the irony of it all...

    Is in my opinion that Microsoft has brought this all upon themselves.

    Times have changes; people and companies actually get a choice in the matter.

    Still; here's hoping that something good comes out of all this. Maybe Microsoft will, at one point, be (financially) forced into supplying older software (think Windows 7, Office 2010, etc.) besides their current line of (unwanted) software.

    I think that could be very good for business too. There's plenty of demand for Office 2010 in my surrounding whereas 2012's simplified looks actually seems to scare some people off.

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